Missoula Rises Hosts ‘Tax Scheme’ Press Conference

Missoula Rises hosted a ‘Federal Tax Scheme’ press conference in downtown Missoula on Monday afternoon, featuring several speakers with one message, to protest the Republican sponsored tax cut bill now before Congress.

Allison Cobb, PhD, clinical psychologist and owner of 121 Psychotherapy PLLC in Missoula, said the purpose of the press conference was to give people the individual impact that the ‘tax scam’ would have on the community.

“We pulled people from the community representative of different groups so that we could put some faces to the impact,” said Cobb. “There’s a lot being made about how this is good for the middle class, and most of the people on the panel are middle class. It is not good for any of them.”

Cobb said in the long term, average Americans will be paying much higher taxes.

“By 2027 we’re all going to have tax increases,” she said. “Some of us will face tax increases next year, but it’s not being sold that way. Trump wants to jam in through so that he has a Christmas gift to give to Americans, which is a gimmick and I don’t think we should be setting economic policy on one party’s need for a legislative win.”

Cobb said the issue is being rushed through Congress, and Democrats would be willing to work with Republicans if more time were taken to debate the issue.

“This is legislation that should be in the works for years, not weeks, but it’s being rushed through and jammed down our throats and middle class America does not need that.”

Cobb said Missoulians should contact their Congressional delegation and let their views be known about the tax bill.

“It’s a lot easier to learn about this tax bill than you might think,” she said. “When I started this process I had no interest in tax legislation at all, and once I got I into it I realized this is the most important piece of legislation facing us. It’s way more important than the healthcare bill because this will have a huge impact on healthcare and the impacts are much wider on our overall economy. Contact Daines, Tester and Gianforte and stay engaged and active and support people in other states who are also doing this work.”

Representatives from Missoula Rises will be appearing on Talk Back on Wednesday, December 20 to further discuss the tax cut bill and its ramifications.